The Travel Essay

Java is unusual. It is green; it is full of trees, fields and villages. The cities have an old world charm. There is a slow pace at which life unfolds. This book of photographs tries to capture these timeless features.

Java is unusual. It is green; it is full of trees, fields and villages. The cities have an old world charm. There is a slow pace at which life unfolds.

In India the monsoon makes landfall in Kerala, first. It then travels across the subcontinent and brings water to a thirsting land. There is a precision as to when it will arrive. Meteorologists play god in announcing its arrival with a confidence seldom seen in the other sciences.

In India the monsoon makes landfall in Kerala, first. It then travels across the subcontinent and brings water to a thirsting land. There is a precision as to when it will arrive. Meteorologists play god in announcing its arrival with a confidence seldom seen in the other sciences.

The train from Gambir station left on time. It was packed. There were mothers with children, grandparents, students and a sprinkling of tourists. The backyards of Jakarta looked unfamiliar as the train passed along the raised tracks. There were chicken coops, fruit trees and the occasional vegetable vendor, selling her produce along the tracks. In […]

There is a difference in the air. It is fresh, with the faint smell of a burning field. The harvest is just over and there are fields, brown in places, burnt black in others. In amongst the brown there are fields of green speckled with little yellow flowers. Then there are the spinach, potato, cauliflower and cane fields, as far as the eye can see. There is a lush fertility to this land. This, is the Punjab.

There is a difference in the air. It is fresh, with the faint smell of a burning field. The harvest is just over and there are fields, brown in places, burnt black in others. In amongst the brown there are fields of green speckled with little yellow flowers. Then there are the spinach, potato, cauliflower […]

It may seem otherwise but Calcutta (or Kolkata as it is now known) and Dhaka (or Dacca as it was once known) are really cities that belong to each other. During the Raj Calcutta became the pre-eminent centre with commerce and administration at its heart. Dhaka became a provincial backwater for the British administrators. Yet […]

For as long as I can remember, it was known as Madras. It is now known as Chennai after Indian chauvinism has reared its ugly head. But no matter. A rose by another name will smell just as sweet. So it is with Madras. My first encounter with Madras was in 1956 when I was […]

It may seem otherwise but Calcutta (or Kolkata as it is now known) and Dhaka (or Dacca as it was once known) are really cities that belong to each other. During the Raj Calcutta became the pre-eminent centre with commerce and administration at its heart. Dhaka became a provincial backwater for the British administrators.